Portable slatted animal pen floor forming apparatus

ABSTRACT

A portable form for casting in place suspended slatted monolithic-type floor panels or sections of uniform size for animal pens. This same inventive concept may be used to precast monolithic slatted floor panels at a spot near or at the erection site.

United States Patent [1 1 Bunger Mar. 26, 1974 [54] PORTABLE SLATTED ANIMAL PEN FLOOR 3,744,945 7/1973 Metrailer 249/18 X FORMING APPARATUS 3,659,977 5/1972 Haws 3,469,816 9/1969 Blough et a] 249/18 X [76] Inventor: Richard E. Bunger, 5202 E.

Washington St., Phoenix, Ariz. 85034 [22] Filed: Oct. 30, 1972 [21] App]. No.: 301,990

[52] US. Cl 249/18, 249/64, 249/176, 249/177, 425/62 [51] Int. Cl. E04g 11/00 [58] Field of Search 249/10, 18, 27, 63, 64, 249/176, 177; 425/62, 453, 454

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,360,230 12/1967 Clements et al. 249/176 X Primary Examiner-Charles W. Lanham Assistant ExaminerCarl E. Hall Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Warren F. B. Lindsley [57] ABSTRACT A portable form for casting in place suspended slatted monolithic-type floor panels or sections of uniform size for animal pens. This same inventive concept may be used to precast monolithic slatted floor panels at a spot near or at the erection site.

8 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures Pmmmmz I914 3.799.490

SHEEI 3 BF 5 PATENTEU M26 1974 SHEU M [1F 5 PORTABLE SLATTED ANIMAL PEN FLOOR FORMING APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a method and apparatus for casting in place across supporting walls a plurality of spaced slats, and more particularly to a portable form for casting monolithic-type suspended or elevated grate or slatted flooring for animal pens.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention is particularly directed to forming in place or at a point remote therefrom a plurality of slats or grates or elevating walls to form a monolithic-type grate flooring used in animal pens where waste removal is a problem. Further, the present invention may also be directed to sewer grate panels and any other floor paneling where drainage or ventilation is a necessity.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART Heretofore, slat or grate-type flooring panels have been cast in a permanent mold and then dried and cured prior to transportation to a job site for installation. Such a system is costly and inefficient when constructing cattle or swine feeding pens at a distance from the casting site. Further, the transportation of said flooring panels without breakage is difficult due to their inherent size and weight.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the invention claimed, a new and improved method and portable apparatus is provided for casting in place a plurality of interconnected, suspended slats or grates of animal pens of a monolithic type which eliminate the need for hand labor in repeatedly laying the floor panels.

Accordingly, an object of this invention is to provide a portable, reusable form forcasting in place or at a point remote from the building site monolithic-type slatted, spaced floor panels.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved method of casting in place monolithic-type slat or grate floor panels.

A further object of this invention is to provide a selfportable apparatus which may cast in place interconnected slatted floor panels of indeterminate length and width.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a portable form for casting monolithic-type suspended, spaced slator grate-type floor panels which may be readily stacked for storage purposes.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a form for casting monolithic-type suspended, spaced slator grate-type floor panels which are adaptable to utilize removable slat or grate core forms for varying the size of the slats or grates.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a portable form for casting in place monolithic-type suspended, spaced slator grate-type floor panels on the side walls of pits of any suitable depth.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a portable form for casting monolithic-type suspended, spaced slator grate-type floor panels of a self-stripping nature.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a portable form producing apparatus for casting in place suspended floor grating or slats which are arranged to receive reinforcing materials such as steel rebar or a matrix thereof without hampering the stripping operations of the form.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a portable, modular designed form for casting in place suspended, monolithic-type spaced grate or slat floor panels which is easily transportable from job site to job site.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds, and the features of novelty which characterize this invention will be pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention may be more readily described by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an animal housing pen with portions of the slat flooring broken away for clarity of detail and embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a portable, self-aligning slat casting form and its associated power section for forming a floor panel section;

FIG. 3 is a lateral cross section of the present invention taken along the line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged partial lateral section taken along the line 4--4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a partial longitudinal section taken along the line 55 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal side elevation of the present invention taken along line 66 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged partial longitudinal section taken along the line 77 of FIG. .2; and

FIG. 8 is an enlarged vertical section, with portions broken away for clarity, taken along line 8-8 of FIG. 7.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring more particularly to the drawings by characters of reference, FIG. 1 illustrates a cattle feeding pen 8 and associated waste removal trenches 9 formed according to the disclosed method and apparatus of this invention. A cattle feeding pen of a continuous monolithic-type construction is used to illustrate one configuration, the floor of which may be readily formed by the portable floor forming apparatus disclosed.

As shown in FIG. 1, the trenches 9 are lined by a pair of spaced-apart, vertically arranged walls 10 and 10 which support floor panels 12, 12 in a grateor slatlike configuration on their upper surfaces 16, 16'. It will be obvious from the example of the relationship of walls 10 and 10' to panels 12 and 12' formed of grates or slats that the uniform height, wall thickness and relative placement of walls 10 and 10' are vital to this particular type of construction and further that the walls 10 and 10 must run perfectly parallel to one another in order that the grates or slats of floor panels 12 and 12 will be squarely and adequately supported atop walls 10 and 10. Some room for variations in the width of the cores used is provided by the space between the cores.

It is obvious from FIG. 1 that the automatically forming in place of large flooring panels of extreme size and weight is desirable over transporting said panels or parts thereof to a job site and manually positioning them in place. Further, it will be seen that adjacent floor panels may be integrally arranged and closer tolerance maintained to adjacent sidewalk and gutters 18. It should be recognized that the panels may be formed adjacent the construction site or at a point remote therefrom, if so desired.

Although a cattle feeding pen has been used to illustrate a type of construction which would most readily benefit from the application of the present invention, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited solely to the production of floor panels for cattle pens and the invention may be used to produce any type of suspended or supported monolithically cast flooring.

Referring to FIG. 2 of the drawings, a portable, monolithic casting form 20 is provided which is actuated and positioned by a hydraulic or pneumatic power actuating means 22 connected to one of its extremities. An identical or similar modular unit 22 is attached to its opposite extremity at points 24, 26 and 28, particularly to move the casting forms hereinafter described. Form 20 comprises a plurality of grate or slat casting forms 30 and 32 interconnected with rails 34 and 36 extending longitudinally of the form, as shown.

A wheel carrying frame 38 disposed on wheels 40 is arranged along and underneath rails 34 and 36 forming the main support or frame of form 20. It should be noted, as shown in FIG. 2, that the hydraulic or pneumatic power means 22 is also provided with wheels 42 for mobility purposes. Rails 34 and 36 define a plurality of mounting slots 44 and 46 in the support frames 34 and 36, respectively.

Hydraulic or pneumatically actuated form alignment means 48 are mounted to the bottom side of support rails 36. These form alignment means 48, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, each comprise a hydraulic or pneumatically actuated motor 50, the cylinder 52 of which is fixedly mounted to a downwardly extending frame member 54. Member 54 is affixed to the underside of support rail 36. The free end of piston rod 56 of motor 50 is pivotally mounted at point 58 to lever 60. Lever 60 is fixedly attached to a longitudinally extending actuating rod 62 carried in bearings 64. Bearings 64 are permanently affixed to a bearing carrying frame 66 affixed to the bottom sides of support rail 36.

Referring to FIG. 4 of the drawings, it will be noted that forms 32 are each slidably attached to the upper surface of support rail 36 by a suitable fastening means such as a bolt 70. Bolt 70 passes through a hole 72 in a support strap 74 loosely affixed to the underside of each form 32. Further, bolt 70 passes through a form mounting slot 44 in support rail 36, thereby maintaining forms 32 in a close relationship to support rail 36 in a vertical disposition but allowing some vertical displacement, while also allowing lateral movement of forms 32 across support rail 36.

The form alignment means 48, through movement of lever 60, is connected with longitudinally extending actuating rod 62' housed in bearings 64. Bearings 64 are supported by frame 66 in the same manner as bearings 64. The longitudinally extending actuating rods 62, 62' have a plurality of upwardly extending arms .76, 76 equally spaced along their length to coincide with the longitudinal axes of casting forms 30 and 32 of the portable casting form 20. Forms 30 and 32 are provided with laterally positioned plates 78 and 80 affixed to their bottom sides, which plates are maintained in close proximity to the upwardly extending lever or actuating arms 76, 76 of the form alignment means 48. As seen in broken lines in FIG. 4, when the piston rod 56 of motor is retracted or extended, the actuating lever attached to longitudinal actuating rods 62, 62' rotate rods 62, 62, thereby swinging arms 76, 76' inwardly and outwardly in a direction laterally of the longitudinal axis of form 20, moving forms 32 and 30, respectively, inwardly or outwardly of said longitudinal axis. One form may move ahead of the others until contact with pit walls 10 has occurred.

Referring to FIG. 5, it will be seen that although the bolt passing through slot 46 of support rail 36 is free to move in a direction laterally of the longitudinal axis of casting form 20, bolt 70 maintains forms 32 in a close adjacent relationship to one another and prevents longitudinal movement of said forms along support rails 36. This same bolt connection in slots 44 of rail 34 causes the same type of movement of forms 30, as evident from the drawings.

Referring again to FIG. 3 of the drawings, it will be seen that portable casting form 20 is provided with identical elevating toggle means 82, 84 and 86 at one or more positions along the length of the casting form which are supported on wheel carrying frames 38. The wheel carrying frames are supported above ground level by wheels 42.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7 of the drawings, the elevating toggle means 82, 84 and 86 are each provided with an upper leg portion 88 pivoted at its upper end on a pin 90 which extends through support rails 36. Further elevating toggle means 86 is provided with a lower leg portion 92 which is pivotally mounted by a pin 94 to the lower support structure 96 of the portable form 20. Still further, leg 88 and leg portion 92 are pivotally connected together with knee action type pin or hinge means 98. Leg member 88 is additionally provided with a pivot pin 100 which passes through the elevating actuating link 102 of the portable casting form 20.

As seen in FIG. 6, the actuating means 22 is provided for elevating and lowering casting form 20 (the lower position being shown in broken lines) and operates as follows: Hydraulic or pneumatic motor 104 has pressure applied to one side of its internal piston (not shown), thereby forcing it and an associated piston rod 106 outwardly, moving an actuating link 102 in the direction of arrow A, carrying with it pivot pins 100 and their associated leg portions 88 of the toggle means 82, 84 and 86. Leg portion 88 is connected to arm 92 by a pivot pin 98, arm 92 being pivoted about pin 94 in the support structure 96 When the actuating link 102 moves in the direction of arrow A the support rails 36 are dropped to their dotted line positions shown in FIG. 7.

To elevate the support rails 36 and their associated forms 30 and 32, the reverse of the hereinbefore described procedure is affected and the actuating link 102 moves in the direction of arrow C. This action moves pivot pin 100 in the direction of arrow C, bringing the leg 88 and leg portions 92 back to a substantially vertical position with the knee action pivots 98 going substantially over center and locking the elevating toggle linkages 82, 84 and 86, as more clearly shown in FIG. 7 for toggle linkage 86.

FIG. 6 illustrates a connecting link 108 of the actuating means 22 connected between an upwardly extending leg 110 of actuating means 22 and support rail 36 by a pair of pivot pins 112 and 114, respectively. Link 108 acts as a longitudinal retaining means during the raising and lowering of the support rails 34 and 36 and their associated forms 30 and 32.

Referring to FIG. 8 of the drawings, to further describe the elevating toggle linkage means 82, 84 and 86, it will be seen that leg 88 and leg portion 92 of toggle means 86 shown thereon are interconnected by hinge pin 98. Pin 98 passes through a structural block 116 welded or otherwise affixed to the interior of leg 88, creating an over-center pivot pin 98. Further, pivot pin 100, which passes through actuating link 102 and leg portion 92 of elevating means 86, is provided with extended ends 118 and 120 which act as stops against the lower leg 92 to limit the travel of the elevating means 86 in the direction of arrowC shown in FIG. 6 during elevation, after an over-center condition is reached.

During operation, the portable form is rolled into position on its wheels 40 with its casting table comprised of forms and 32 and support rails 34 and 36 in their lowered position. Motor 104 of actuating means 22 is then retracted, pulling actuating link 102 which in turn moves elevating toggle linkage means 82, 84 and 86 to their vertical positions. This action raises the forms 30 and 32 and rails 34 and 36 into position for the casting of a monolithic grate or slat type floormg.

Once the portable form 20 is in position and the casting table is elevated, minor lateral adjustments of the forms 30 and 32 may be made by actuating the hereinbefore described form alignment means 48. Deck plates may be placed around the edges of the panel section to be formed by the molds 30 and 32. When the forms 30 and 32 are in position, the grate or slat flooring is cast in place in cavities 122, described by the angularly and upwardly extending walls 124 and the outwardly extending base flanges 126 of forms 30 and 32. Suitable plastic mud such as wet concrete is spread across the top of the platform formed by forms 30 and 32 within the area defined by the deck plates (not shown). Except for these forms, a solid concrete platform would result. When forms 30 and 32 are simultaneously lowered, they result in slats being provided in the concrete slab or panel as shown in FIG. 1.

The portable form 20 is maintained in position during curing. After curing has occurred, the simultaneous stripping of the forms 30 and 32 is accomplished in the following manner. Motor 104 of actuating means 22 is extended slightly to move toggle means 82, 84 and 86 out of their over-center positions, thereby bringing the entire weight of the portable form 20 to bear in a downward direction. Prior to actuating motor 104, each form may be tamped to help in dislodging the set concrete therefrom. The form alignment means 48 is then cycled or oscillated, which breaks the bond between the monolithic casting and the forms 30 and 32. The portable form 20 may then be lowered in a manner hereinbefore described.

Thus, it will be noted that by casting in place a given length of a slatted concrete slab or panel the casting form may be moved along in a trench below the cast-inplace slatted platform and another section integrally formed therewith at either or both ends thereof. By this modular construction a pen of any length or width may be constructed. The novelty disclosed lies in the method and apparatus of forming the slatted platform disclosed.

To facilitate the connecting together of a number of portable casting forms 20, each apparatus or form 'is provided with a suitable towing pole 127 fastened to the machine as shown in FIG. 2 which has a tongue 129 pivotally attached at 131 to a pair of arms 131a and 131b, as shown, for movement vertically to aid in pulling the apparatus upwardly out of a trench. If so desired, the tongue may be of a telescoping nature anchored at various lengths to form a sturdy structure.

It should be recognized that this portable slat or grate-forming machine may be used for forming in place said slats or grates on pit walls of any reasonable height. Further, the disclosed apparatus may be used in forming the slats and grates adjacent the building site or at a point remote therefrom.

Although but one embodiment of the present invention has been illustrated and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or from the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A concrete slab-making machine comprising:

a wheel-mounted main support,

a frame vertically movable on said main support,

a releasable locking means on said frame for locking said frame in one position against vertical movement on said main support.

a plurality of elongated molds, each defining an open cavity facing downwardly on said machine and positioned laterally across the longitudinal axis of said frame.

said molds being juxtapositioned and defining between adjacent molds, cavities for receiving plastic concrete,

means mounted on said frame for moving each of said molds laterally of said frame for alignment purposes, and

power means mounted on said machine for reciprocating said frame relatively vertically to and from said locked position to position said molds for receiving plastic concrete and stripping said molds from the set concrete.

2. The concrete slab-making machine set forth in claim 1 wherein:

said molds comprise inverted V-shaped channels closed at their ends, which sides rub during movement of said frame, providing an edge cleaning function.

3. The concrete slab-making machine set forth in claim 2 wherein:

the open ends of said V-shaped channels are provided with flanges which abut adjacent flanges when said frame is in said locked position.

4. The concrete slab-making machine set forth in claim 1 in further combination with:

stop means on said frame for engaging said molds upon limited lateral movement of each of said molds for alignment purposes.

5. The concrete slab-making machine set forth in claim 1 in further combination with:

a plurality of apertures in said frame, one positioned in the path of lateral movement of each of said molds,

said means for moving each of said molds comprising a stop means for each of said apertures for engaging the periphery of said associated apertures to limit the lateral movement of the associated mold.

6. A concrete slab-making machine comprising:

a wheel-mounted main support,

a frame vertically movable on said main support,

a releasable locking means on said frame for locking said frame in one position against vertical movement on said main support,

a plurality of V-shaped elongated molds each defining a closed-ended cavity facing downwardly on said machine and positioned in two spaced rows substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis of said frame,

each of said molds positioned so that the V-shaped molds extend laterally across the longitudinal axis of said frame,

said molds of each row beingjuxtapositioned and defining between adjacent molds cavities for receiving plastic concrete,

10 claim 6 in further combination with:

stop means on said frame for individually engaging said molds upon limited lateral movement of each of said molds for alignment purposes.

8. The concrete slab-making machine set forth in claim 6 in further combination with:

a plurality of apertures in said frame, one positioned in the path of lateral movement of each of said molds,

said means for moving each of said molds comprising a stop means for each of said apertures for engaging the periphery of the associated aperture to individually limit the lateral movement of the associated mold. 

1. A concrete slab-making machine comprising: a wheel-mounted main support, a frame vertically movable on said main support, a releasable locking means on said frame for locking said frame in one position against vertical movement on said main support. a plurality of elongated molds, each defining an open cavity facing downwardly on said machine and positioned laterally across the longitudinal axis of said frame. said molds being juxtapositioned and defining between adjacent molds, cavities for receiving plastic concrete, means mounted on said frame for moving each of said molds laterally of said frame for alignment purposes, and power means mounted on said machine for reciprocating said frame relatively vertically to and from said locked position to position said molds for receiving plastic concrete and stripping said molds from the set concrete.
 2. The concrete slab-making machine set forth in claim 1 wherein: said molds comprise inverted V-shaped channels closed at their ends, which sides rub during movement of said frame, providing an edge cleaning function.
 3. The concrete slab-making machine set forth in claim 2 wherein: the open ends of said V-shaped channels are provided with flanges which abut adjacent flanges when said frame is in said locked position.
 4. The concrete slab-mAking machine set forth in claim 1 in further combination with: stop means on said frame for engaging said molds upon limited lateral movement of each of said molds for alignment purposes.
 5. The concrete slab-making machine set forth in claim 1 in further combination with: a plurality of apertures in said frame, one positioned in the path of lateral movement of each of said molds, said means for moving each of said molds comprising a stop means for each of said apertures for engaging the periphery of said associated apertures to limit the lateral movement of the associated mold.
 6. A concrete slab-making machine comprising: a wheel-mounted main support, a frame vertically movable on said main support, a releasable locking means on said frame for locking said frame in one position against vertical movement on said main support, a plurality of V-shaped elongated molds each defining a closed-ended cavity facing downwardly on said machine and positioned in two spaced rows substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis of said frame, each of said molds positioned so that the V-shaped molds extend laterally across the longitudinal axis of said frame, said molds of each row being juxtapositioned and defining between adjacent molds cavities for receiving plastic concrete, means mounted on said frame for moving each of said molds laterally of said frame for alignment purposes, and power means mounted on said machine for reciprocating said frame relatively vertically to and from said locked position to position said molds for receiving plastic concrete and for stripping said molds from the set concrete.
 7. The concrete slab-making machine set forth in claim 6 in further combination with: stop means on said frame for individually engaging said molds upon limited lateral movement of each of said molds for alignment purposes.
 8. The concrete slab-making machine set forth in claim 6 in further combination with: a plurality of apertures in said frame, one positioned in the path of lateral movement of each of said molds, said means for moving each of said molds comprising a stop means for each of said apertures for engaging the periphery of the associated aperture to individually limit the lateral movement of the associated mold. 